In anticipation for the Haas Brothers: Moonlight opening at the Nasher Sculpture Center, two sets of young twins explore the world of the Haas Brothers.

It’s hard to spend time with the work of Simon and Nikolai Haas and not walk away smiling. Once seeing their objects filled with sparkling fantasy and colorful play—and perhaps a dirty joke here and there—it’s unsurprising to learn that the collaborators are twin brothers (born in Austin, for those whom such origin earns them bonus points). Their relationship bears the special kinship of having taken life on in step, born minutes apart and bound in simultaneous childhood. The Haas Brothers seem to embrace this unique facet, listing youthful inspirations such as the 1992 animated film FernGully; Kid Pix, a bitmap computer drawing program, also launched in the early ’90s; and classic toys such as the Wooden Wiggly Snake. 

With an arsenal of images shared by the Haas Brothers, I enlisted two sets of twins in the Nasher staff family—Iris and Calvin, age 6, and Marlo and Faye, age 5. These double-sided joys, brought to us by our equally delightful head registrar and curator of education, were given what I call “The Haas Brothers Imagination Kit”—hand-painted boxes filled with Haas Brothers’ cut-outs and backgrounds, markers, crayons, fancy tape, stickers, feathers, and other bits and baubles. We recorded their reactions and documented the fun in the pages ahead. 

In short, it’s all a lot of fun, but on a deeper level, we hope to impart to you a little wonder ahead of the the enchanting works Simon and Nikolai will show in Haas Brothers: Moonlight, opening May 11, 2024 at the Nasher Sculpture Center.